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Adult hospital patient experience survey:

What have we learned from 5 years’ results?

June 2020

Adult hospital patient experience survey | © Health Quality & Safety Commission 2020 2

Contents

Contents ............................................................................................................................... 2

Executive summary ............................................................................................................... 3

The adult hospital patient experience survey ........................................................................ 4

Who answered the survey? ................................................................................................... 5

Responses by age, gender and ethnicity ........................................................................... 7

How did things change? ...................................................................................................... 10

How did things compare for different groups? ..................................................................... 14

Appendix 1: Effect of weighting to population norms on individual question results ............. 25

Appendix 2: The patient experience survey ......................................................................... 26

Published June 2020

© Health Quality & Safety Commission 2020

Available online at www.hqsc.govt.nz

Enquiries to: [email protected]

http://www.hqsc.govt.nz/

mailto:[email protected]


Executive summary

This report sets out major themes from the results of the adult hospital patient experience

survey since its inception in 2014. It covers how responses have changed over that time,

and the variation in responses between different groups.

Key findings are summarised below.

• Over the five years that the survey has run, around 38,000 patients responded.

• Responses were generally stable, with relatively small changes in the responses

received between quarters (Figures 1–4).

• Eight of the 20 questions showed a statistically significant increase in the proportion of

respondents who gave the most positive possible response in the most recent four

quarters (the calendar year 2019) compared with the first four quarters that the survey

ran (2014/15) (Table 1). The eight questions are:

o Was your condition explained to you in a way that you could understand?

o Did a member of staff tell you about medication side effects to watch for when

you went home?

o Were you involved as much as you wanted to be in decisions about your care

and treatment?

o Do you feel you received enough information from the hospital on how to

manage your conditions after your discharge?

o Did the hospital staff include your family/whānau or someone close to you in

discussions about your care?

o If you needed help from the staff getting to the toilet or using a bedpan, did you

get it in time?

o Was cultural support available when you needed it?

o Did staff tell you how the operation went in a way you could understand?

Using a sign test to look at consistent direction of change over the last three years

compared with the baseline first four quarters, all eight of these questions showed a

significant improvement, along with three others (Table 1

• Table 1):

o Did you feel doctors listened to what you had to say?

o Overall, did you feel staff treated you with kindness and understanding while

you were in the hospital?

o Before the operation, did staff explain the risks and benefits in a way you could

understand?

• There were significant differences in responses between ethnic groups. In 2019,

compared with the European ethnic group (the largest group in the survey):

o Māori were significantly less likely to respond positively to six questions and

significantly more likely to respond positively to two questions

o Pacific peoples were significantly less likely to respond positively to two

questions and significantly more likely to respond positively to four questions

o Asians were significantly less likely to respond positively to one question and

significantly more likely to respond positively to seven questions (Table 2).

• There was a consistent pattern of significantly more positive responses for

respondents aged 65–84 years. Respondents aged 15–44 years responded

significantly more negatively (Table 3).



The adult hospital patient experience survey

In 2014 the Health Quality & Safety Commission (the Commission) designed a 20-item adult

inpatient survey based upon validated items used in the Picker Survey. Details of the

development, including the underpinning conceptualising of patient experience into domains

and the extensive cognitive testing of the survey, can be found at

www.hqsc.govt.nz/assets/Health-Quality-Evaluation/PR/KPMG-patient-experience-

indicators-Aug-2013.pdf.

The survey has now run for 22 consecutive quarters. Details of how the survey was

operationalised are available on the Commission’s website (www.hqsc.govt.nz/our-

programmes/health-quality-evaluation/publications-and-resources/publication/1658). A copy

of the survey can be found in Appendix 2 of this report.

https://www.hqsc.govt.nz/assets/Health-Quality-Evaluation/PR/KPMG-patient-experience-indicators-Aug-2013.pdf

https://www.hqsc.govt.nz/assets/Health-Quality-Evaluation/PR/KPMG-patient-experience-indicators-Aug-2013.pdf

https://www.hqsc.govt.nz/our-programmes/health-quality-evaluation/publications-and-resources/publication/1658/

https://www.hqsc.govt.nz/our-programmes/health-quality-evaluation/publications-and-resources/publication/1658/


Who answered the survey?

The 38,000 respondents represent a response rate of 24 percent of all patients surveyed.

The response rates varied by age, gender and ethnicity of the respondents. A question that

has frequently been raised is whether the respondents comprised a ‘good enough’ sample.

In fact, there are three questions hidden here:

• Is the sample large enough to give reliable results?

• Are respondents demographically representative of people who enter hospital (or at least

representative enough for us to work with the data)?

• Are the respondents’ reported experiences representative of those who do not respond?

The first of these issues is whether the sample is too small to give reliable, stable results. At

a national level, this has not been the case. The number of responses nationally has

typically been between 1,500 and 2,000 each quarter throughout the five years the survey

has run, which is ample to provide relatively small confidence limits (the so-called ‘margin of

error’) of about 2 percent around results, and straightforward examination of national scores

over time does not show unstable changes in results – in fact, rather the reverse. Figures 1–

4 show clearly that across 22 iterations of the survey, results do not change dramatically

quarter on quarter, but show a small, gradual improvement.

Figure 1: Percentage of respondents who gave the most positive answer, all New

Zealand by quarter, communication questions

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

2014Q3

2014Q4

2015Q1

2015Q2

2015Q3

2015Q4

2016Q1

2016Q2

2016Q3

2016Q4

2017Q1

2017Q2

2017Q3

2017Q4

2018Q1

2018Q2

2018Q3

2018Q4

2019Q1

2019Q2

2019Q3

2019Q4

Did a member of staff tell you about medication side effects to watch for when you went home?

Did you feel doctors listened to what you had to say?

Did you feel nurses listened to what you had to say?

Did you feel other staff listened to what you had to say?

Was your condition explained to you in a way that you could understand?

When you had important questions to ask a doctor, did you get answers that you could understand?



Zealand by quarter, partnership and coordination questions


Zealand by quarter, physical and emotional needs questions

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

2014Q3

2014Q4

2015Q1

2015Q2

2015Q3

2015Q4

2016Q1

2016Q2

2016Q3

2016Q4

2017Q1

2017Q2

2017Q3

2017Q4

2018Q1

2018Q2

2018Q3

2018Q4

2019Q1

2019Q2

2019Q3

2019Q4

Did the hospital staff include your family/whānau or someone close to you in discussions about your care?

Do you feel you received enough information from the hospital on how to manage your condition after yourdischarge?

Were you given conflicting information by different staff members, eg, one staff member would tell you onething and then another would tell you something different?

Were you involved as much as you wanted to be in decisions about your care and treatment?

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

2014Q3

2014Q4

2015Q1

2015Q2

2015Q3

2015Q4

2016Q1

2016Q2

2016Q3

2016Q4

2017Q1

2017Q2

2017Q3

2017Q4

2018Q1

2018Q2

2018Q3

2018Q4

2019Q1

2019Q2

2019Q3

2019Q4

Do you think the hospital staff did everything they could to help control your pain?

If you needed help from the staff getting to the toilet or using a bedpan, did you get it in time?

Overall, did you feel staff treated you with kindness and understanding while you were in the hospital?

Overall, did you feel staff treated you with respect and dignity while you were in the hospital?

Was cultural support available when you needed it?



Zealand by quarter, additional questions

Responses by age, gender and ethnicity

In considering who responded, we can look at responses by age, gender and ethnicity and

compare them with who was eligible to respond for that quarter. From this we can calculate

which groups were under- and over-represented amongst respondents and by how much. In

broad terms, women, people aged between 45 and 74 years, European people, and those

with an ‘unknown’ ethnicity are over-represented among respondents, and other groups are

under-represented. Figures 5 and 6 show over- and under-representation by age, gender

and ethnicity. These have remained broadly consistent over time with the exception that

‘unknown’ ethnicity response rates have gone down.

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

2014Q3

2014Q4

2015Q1

2015Q2

2015Q3

2015Q4

2016Q1

2016Q2

2016Q3

2016Q4

2017Q1

2017Q2

2017Q3

2017Q4

2018Q1

2018Q2

2018Q3

2018Q4

2019Q1

2019Q2

2019Q3

2019Q4

Before the operation did staff explain the risks and benefits in a way you could understand?

Did staff tell you how the operation went in a way you could understand?

Did you have confidence and trust in the doctors treating you?

Did you have confidence and trust in the nurses treating you?

Did you have confidence and trust in the other members of the team treating you?


Figure 5: Number of responses above and below a representative sample by age,

gender and ethnic group, first four quarters of the inpatient survey (2014/15)

Figure 6: Number of responses above and below a representative sample by age,

gender and ethnic group, most recent four quarters of the inpatient survey (2019)

-200

-100

0

100

200

300

400

Māori Pacificpeoples

Asian Europeanand other

Unknown Māori Pacificpeoples


Unknown

Female Male

Num

ber

of

responses u

nder/

over

repre

sente

d

15-24 25-44 45-64 65-74 75-84 85+

-200

-100

0

100

200

300

400



Unknown Māori Pacificpeoples


Unknown

Female Male

Num

ber

of

responses u

nder-

/over-

repre

sente

d

15-24 25-44 45-64 65-74 75-84 85+


This type of demographic misrepresentation can be addressed by applying weighting factors

to responses. In the inpatient survey, we have weighting factors to adjust each district health

board (DHB) response back to the sample frame population for each quarter. These can be

applied to the raw results. The effects of this are quite minimal, typically reducing the

proportion of respondents in the most positive category (the measure that we use throughout

this paper) by one percentage point (see Appendix 1). Therefore, while there are differences

in response rates by age, gender and ethnicity, these do not appear to substantially distort

the overall results reported here.

The final question of whether those who respond are attitudinally distinct from those who do

not respond (regardless of demographic under-representation or otherwise) is complex.

Over the course of running the survey, we have heard plausible theories from people

arguing that those who respond probably had more negative experiences than those who

don’t, and precisely the reverse – that they probably had more positive experiences. To test

these ideas, we collaborated with Victoria University Wellington and Buzz Channel in a study

that undertook recall phone surveys with a sample of people invited to participate in the

survey who did not respond. This sample was asked why they did not participate, and they

were asked a selection of questions from the survey to see if they reported a significantly

different experience to those who responded.

The results were published in the New Zealand Medical Journal.1 The study showed that

there were no statistically significant differences in how non-responders would have

answered questions. It also showed that the major reasons for non-response were either not

receiving the invite to participate or being too busy to respond (the latter was particularly

common among new mothers being asked to reflect upon their maternity experience).

1 Thomson M, Pledger M, Hamblin R, et al. 2018. Comparing initial and follow-up responders to a New Zealand patient experience survey. New Zealand Medical Journal 131(1482): 46–58.


How did things change?

Our approach to reporting results has been to look at the proportion of respondents who

gave the most positive possible answer for each question (ie, the highest achievable would

be 100 percent of respondents answering as positively as possible).

To understand how patient experience has changed over time, we have used two

approaches:

• the change and statistical significance of that change between the first and last four

quarters (t-test comparison of proportions, p < 0.05 denoting statistical significance)

• the consistency of change over the last three years in comparison with the baseline year

(ie, how often over those 12 surveys did a particular question score higher or lower than

the average for the first four quarters) (using sign test – with 10 or more results in one

direction equating to p < 0.05).

Figures 7–10 show the proportion of respondents who gave the most positive possible

response for each question in both time periods. In line with the time series presentation

shown in Figures 1–4, the general pattern is of a small increase over time in the proportion

of respondents who gave the most positive response possible.

Figure 7: Proportion of respondents who gave the most positive answer for each

question in the inpatient survey, communication questions

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

When you hadimportant

questions to ask adoctor did you getanswers that you

could understand?

Was you conditionexplained to you in

a way that youcould understand?

Did you feeldoctors listened towhat you had to

say?

Did you feelnurses listened towhat you had to

say?

Did you feel othermembers of yourhealthcare teamlistened to whatyou had to say?

Did a member ofstaff tell you about

medication sideeffects to watch for

when you wenthome?

2014/15 2019



question in the inpatient survey, partnership and coordination questions


question in the inpatient survey, physical and emotional needs questions

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

Were you involved asmuch as you wanted tobe in decisions about

your care and treatment?

Did the hospital staffinclude your

family/whānau orsomeone close to you indiscussions about your

care?

Were you givenconflicting information bydifferent staff members?

Do you feel you receivedenough information fromthe hospital on how to

manage your conditionsafter your discharge?

2014/15 2019

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

If you needed helpfrom the staff gettingto the toilet or using abedpan, did you get it

in time?

Do you think thehospital staff did

everything they couldto help control your

pain?

Overall, did you feelstaff treated you withrespect and dignity

while you were in thehospital?

Overall, did you feelstaff treated you with

kindness andunderstanding while

you were in thehospital?

Was cultural supportavailable when you

needed it?

2014/15 2019



question in the inpatient survey, additional questions

When tested for significance and consistency, 40 percent of questions (8/20) show a

statistically significant increase, and just over half (11/20) show a consistent increase in the

last three years. There were no significant or consistent reductions in the proportion of

respondents who gave the most positive response (Table 1).

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Before the operationdid staff explain the

risks and benefits in away you couldunderstand?

Did staff tell you howthe operation went in a

way you couldunderstand?

Did you haveconfidence and trust in

the doctors treatingyou?

Did you haveconfidence and trust in

the nurses treatingyou?

Did you haveconfidence and trust inthe other members ofyour healthcare team

treating you?

2014/15 2019


Table 1: Change in proportion of respondents who gave the most positive answer,

New Zealand 2014/15 to 2019 (n=13,884)

Item Change Significant

improvement

Consistent

improvement

When you had important questions to ask a doctor,

did you get answers that you could understand? 1%

Was your condition explained to you in a way that

you could understand? 2%

Did you feel doctors listened to what you had to say? 1%

Did you feel nurses listened to what you had to say? 1%

Did you feel other members of your health care team

listened to what you had to say? 1%

Did a member of staff tell you about medication side

effects to watch for when you went home? 2%

Were you involved as much as you wanted to be in

decisions about your care and treatment? 2%

Did the hospital staff include your family/whānau or

someone close to you in discussions about your

care?

4%

Were you given conflicting information by different

staff members? −1%

Do you feel you received enough information from

the hospital on how to manage your conditions after

your discharge?

2%

If you needed help from the staff getting to the toilet

or using a bedpan, did you get it in time? 2%

Do you think the hospital staff did everything they

could to help control your pain? −1%

Overall, did you feel staff treated you with respect

and dignity while you were in the hospital? 1%

Overall, did you feel staff treated you with kindness

and understanding while you were in the hospital? 1%

Was cultural support available when you needed it? 4%

Before the operation, did staff explain the risks and

benefits in a way you could understand? 1%

Did staff tell you how the operation went in a way you

could understand? 2%

Did you have confidence and trust in the doctors

treating you? 0%

Did you have confidence and trust in the nurses

treating you? −1%

Did you have confidence and trust in the other

members of your health care team treating you? 0%


How did things compare for different groups?

Table 2Table 2 sets out the proportion of respondents who gave the most positive possible

response for each question in the first and last four quarters of the survey, for each

prioritised ethnic group. The difference from the European group proportion was tested for

each question for all other ethnic groups for both years.

This demonstrates that fewer Māori reported the most positive possible experience for 9 out

of 20 questions in 2014/15 and for 6 out of 20 questions in 2019. These more negatively

answered questions are clustered around communication and physical and emotional needs.

This pattern of more negative responses is not seen consistently for Asian and Pacific

respondents. More Asian respondents reported the most positive possible experience for

3 out of 20 questions in 2014/15 and fewer for 3 out of 20 questions as well. By 2019 this

ratio had changed to 7 more positive and 1 less positive. For Pacific respondents the ratios

were 3 more positive and 0 less positive in 2014/15, and 4 more positive and 2 less positive

in 2019.


Table 2: Proportion of respondents who gave the most positive answer in 2014/15 and 2019 by ethnicity, New Zealand

Māori

(n=1,351) Pacific peoples

(n=281) Asian

(n=597) European (n=10,395)

Other (n=316)

Item 2014/15 2019 2014/15 2019 2014/15 2019 2014/15 2019 2014/15 2019

When you had important questions to ask a doctor, did you get answers that you could understand?

69%* 70%* 70% 78% 74% 84% * 73% 75% 71% 70%


66%* 71% 66% 75% 67% 80% * 71% 73% 68% 66% *

Did you feel doctors listened to what you had to say? 72%* 76% 75% 85% 78% 86% * 78% 78% 84% 76%

Did you feel nurses listened to what you had to say? 74% 75% 82% 72% 76% 81% 78% 79% 81% 77%

Did you feel other members of your health care team listened to what you had to say?

69% 73% 74% 71% 69% 76% 69% 70% 71% 71%

Were you given enough privacy when discussing your condition or treatment?

75% 78% 74% 77% 88% * 87% * 78% 77% 78% 72%


53%* 54%* 57%* 66%* 55% * 62% * 46% 48% 39% 49%


65% 68% 67% 76%* 67% 75% * 67% 68% 68% 65%


57%* 65%* 67%* 72%* 68% * 68% * 52% 56% 54% 58%

Were you given conflicting information by different staff members?

65%* 67%* 74% 71% 72% 68% 71% 71% 72% 71%

Do you feel you received enough information from the hospital on how to manage your conditions after your discharge?

58% 59% 66%* 68%* 60% 68% * 56% 58% 54% 58%


77% 78% 77% 73%* 71% * 80% 79% 81% 75% 78%


79%* 81% 85% 87% 78% * 82% 83% 83% 81% 81%



82%* 84%* 83% 83% 87% 90% 88% 88% 86% 91%

Overall, did you feel staff treated you with kindness and understanding while you were in the hospital?

81%* 82%* 88% 88% 82% 87% 85% 86% 81% 86%

Was cultural support available when you needed it? 71%* 75%* 74% 74%* 69% * 78% 80% 84% 69% * 75%

Before the operation, did staff explain the risks and benefits in a way you could understand?

86% 87% 84% 89% 82% 87% 87% 88% 88% 84%


76% 82% 79% 82% 74% 82% 75% 77% 76% 75%


79%* 82%* 82% 88% 85% 89% 86% 86% 88% 84%


84% 81% 91% 81% 80% 81% 84% 84% 81% 84%

Did you have confidence and trust in the other members of your health care team treating you?

80% 82% 83% 77% 78% 77% * 83% 84% 82% 80%

* Significantly different from European proportion (p > .05).

Green text denotes a significantly greater proportion of respondents gave the most positive response than the European population.

Red text denotes a significantly smaller proportion of respondents gave the most positive response than the European population.


Considering change in responses within ethnic groups between 2014/15 and 2019, Figures

11–14 show differences in the percentage of respondents who gave the most positive

answer between the two periods for each ethnic group and question. Statistically significant

increases were noted for 7 out of 20 questions for Asian respondents, 4 out of 20 questions

for European respondents, 2 out of 20 for Māori respondents, and 1 out of 20 for Pacific

respondents. There were no statistically significant decreases in the percentage of

respondents who gave the most positive answer.

In combination, these results suggest both that there is inequity in experience between

ethnic groups (with Māori in particular less likely to report the best possible experience) and

that overall improvements in reported experience have not reduced this inequity, and may

have increased it.

Figure 11: Increase (decrease) in proportion of respondents who gave the most

positive answer for each question in the inpatient survey by ethnic group,

communication questions

Note: Striped bars indicate statistically significant increase/decrease (p < .05).

-15%

-10%

-5%

0%

5%

10%

15%


Asian European Other

When you had important questions to ask a doctor did you get answers that you could understand?




Did you feel other members of your healthcare team listened to what you had to say?




positive answer for each question in the inpatient survey by ethnic group, partnership

and coordination questions



positive answer for each question in the inpatient survey by ethnic group, physical

and emotional needs questions


-6%

-4%

-2%

0%

2%

4%

6%

8%

10%

Māori Pacific peoples Asian European Other




Do you feel you received enough information from the hospital on how to manage your conditions after yourdischarge?

-6%

-4%

-2%

0%

2%

4%

6%

8%

10%






Overall, did you feel staff treated you with kindness and understanding while you were in thehospital?



positive answer for each question in the inpatient survey by ethnic group, additional

questions


Table 3 repeats this analysis for age groups. Consistently across questions there is a

gradient of younger respondents being less likely to respond positively to most questions.

Positive responses increase with age – the most positive pattern being for respondents aged

65–74 years, with the very oldest respondents giving slightly less-positive responses.

-12%

-10%

-8%

-6%

-4%

-2%

0%

2%

4%

6%

8%

10%








Table 3: Proportion of respondents who gave the most positive answer in 2014/15 and 2019 by age group, New Zealand

15–24 years 25–44 years 45–64 years 65–74 years 75–84 years 85+ years

2014/15 2019 2014/15 2019 2014/15 2019 2014/15 2019 2014/15 2019 2014/15 2019

When you had important questions to ask a

doctor, did you get answers that you could

understand?

63%* 55%* 68%* 72%* 76% 76% 78% 80%* 74% 75% 64%* 68%*

Was your condition explained to you in a way

that you could understand? 60%* 58%* 64%* 69%* 73% 74% 75% 77%* 72% 73% 63%* 65%*

Did you feel doctors listened to what you had to

say? 66%* 65%* 70%* 71%* 77% 78% 84%* 84%* 82%* 83%* 77% 80%

Did you feel nurses listened to what you had to

say? 65%* 68%* 70%* 71%* 80% 78% 82% 84%* 81% 81%* 77% 80%

Did you feel other members of your health care

team listened to what you had to say? 62%* 63% 64%* 69% 70% 70% 76%* 73% 72% 73% 69% 69%

Were you given enough privacy when discussing

your condition or treatment? 73% 74% 78% 80%* 75% 72% 81%* 79%* 84%* 79%* 83%* 78%*

Did a member of staff tell you about medication

side effects to watch for when you went home? 45% 44% 46% 51% 47% 50% 52% 54% 46%* 47%* 45% 42%*

Were you involved as much as you wanted to be

in decisions about your care and treatment? 62% 58%* 64%* 65% 67% 67% 71%* 73%* 67% 69% 61%* 65%

Did the hospital staff include your family/whānau

or someone close to you in discussions about

your care?

56% 59% 51% 57% 51% 55% 58%* 61%* 59%* 60%* 61%* 63%*

Were you given conflicting information by

different staff members? 53%* 45%* 56%* 57%* 73% 70% 78%* 78%* 81%* 79%* 80%* 79%*

Do you feel you received enough information

from the hospital on how to manage your

conditions after your discharge?

50% 44%* 48%* 52%* 55% 58% 65%* 65%* 62%* 64%* 57% 58%


If you needed help from the staff getting to the

toilet or using a bedpan, did you get it in time? 66%* 74%* 73%* 77%* 81% 80% 83% 83%* 80% 84%* 81% 78%

Do you think the hospital staff did everything they

could to help control your pain? 69%* 66%* 74%* 75%* 85% 82% 91%* 89%* 88%* 88%* 85% 84%

Overall, did you feel staff treated you with respect

and dignity while you were in the hospital? 76%* 76%* 79%* 82%* 87% 86% 92%* 92%* 93%* 92%* 95%* 93%*

Overall, did you feel staff treated you with

kindness and understanding while you were in

the hospital?

70%* 74%* 75%* 77%* 86% 84% 90%* 91%* 92%* 91%* 94%* 92%*

Was cultural support available when you needed

it? 78% 69%* 70%* 78% 73% 80% 84%* 83% 80%* 84% 87%* 81%

Before the operation, did staff explain the risks

and benefits in a way you could understand? 76%* 76%* 81%* 84%* 88% 88% 91%* 92%* 88% 88% 82%* 82%*

Did staff tell you how the operation went in a way

you could understand? 61%* 74% 72%* 75%* 77% 80% 80% 81% 78% 76% 73% 76%

Did you have confidence and trust in the doctors

treating you? 76%* 76%* 79%* 79%* 84% 83% 90%* 91%* 92%* 90%* 89%* 91%*

Did you have confidence and trust in the nurses

treating you? 73%* 70%* 76%* 77%* 84% 82% 88%* 88%* 90%* 88%* 90%* 88%*

Did you have confidence and trust in the other

members of your health care team treating you? 77% 72%* 76%* 77%* 81% 83% 89%* 86%* 88%* 87%* 89%* 85%


Considering change in responses within age groups between 2014/15 and 2019, Figures

15–18 show differences in the percentage of respondents who gave the most positive

answer between the two periods for each ethnic group and question. Other than those aged

25–44, there is not a clear direction of significant changes. While the greatest increases in

positive responses are found in the 25–44 age group, they remained less positive than older

age groups. While many of the questions that show a positive increase did so through

concerted efforts, the lack of a uniform direction of travel between age groups suggests that

these efforts did not work equally well for all people.


positive answer for each question in the inpatient survey by age group,

communication questions


-10%

-8%

-6%

-4%

-2%

0%

2%

4%

6%

15-24 25-44 45-64 65-74 75-84 85+

When you had important questions to ask a doctor did you get answers that you could understand?




Did you feel other members of your healthcare team listened to what you had to say?




positive answer for each question in the inpatient survey by age group, partnership

and coordination questions

Note: Striped bars indicate statistically significant increase/decrease (p<.05).


positive answer for each question in the inpatient survey by age group, physical and

emotional needs questions


-10%

-8%

-6%

-4%

-2%

0%

2%

4%

6%

8%

15-24 25-44 45-64 65-74 75-84 85+


Did the hospital staff include your family/whānau or someone close to you in discussions aboutyour care?


Do you feel you received enough information from the hospital on how to manage yourconditions after your discharge?

-10%

-5%

0%

5%

10%

15-24 25-44 45-64 65-74 75-84 85+




Overall, did you feel staff treated you with kindness and understanding while you were in thehospital?

Was cultural support available when you needed it?



positive answer for each question in the inpatient survey by age group, additional

questions

Note: Striped bars indicate statistically significant increase/decrease (p<.05).

-6%

-4%

-2%

0%

2%

4%

6%

8%

10%

12%

14%

15-24 25-44 45-64 65-74 75-84 85+





Did you have confidence and trust in the other members of your healthcare team treating you?


Appendix 1: Effect of weighting to population norms

on individual question results

Question Effect of weighting to

populations on % of

patients who give the

most positive response

When you had important questions to ask a doctor, did you get

answers that you could understand? −1.14%

Was your condition explained to you in a way that you could

understand? −0.90%

Did you feel doctors listened to what you had to say? −1.19%

Did you feel nurses listened to what you had to say? −0.74%

Did you feel other members of your health care team listened to what

you had to say? −0.76%

Did a member of staff tell you about medication side effects to watch

for when you went home? −0.56%

Were you involved as much as you wanted to be in decisions about

your care and treatment? −0.73%

Did the hospital staff include your family/whānau or someone close to

you in discussions about your care? −0.25%

Were you given conflicting information by different staff members? −1.72%

Do you feel you received enough information from the hospital on how

to manage your conditions after your discharge? −1.41%

If you needed help from the staff getting to the toilet or using a bedpan,

did you get it in time? −0.78%

Do you think the hospital staff did everything they could to help control

your pain? −1.22%

Overall, did you feel staff treated you with respect and dignity while you

were in the hospital? −0.88%

Overall, did you feel staff treated you with kindness and understanding

while you were in the hospital? −1.20%

Was cultural support available when you needed it? −0.84%

Before the operation, did staff explain the risks and benefits in a way

you could understand? −0.83%

Did staff tell you how the operation went in a way you could

understand? −1.93%

Did you have confidence and trust in the doctors treating you? −0.85%

Did you have confidence and trust in the nurses treating you? −0.11%

Did you have confidence and trust in the other members of your health

care team treating you? −0.45%


Appendix 2: The patient experience survey

This survey is about your most recent stay in the hospital named in the letter enclosed with

the survey. Please do not include any other hospital stays in your answer.

For each question please cross clearly inside one box.

Don’t worry if you make a mistake; simply fill in the box ◼ and put a cross in the correct

box.

Could you tell us if you are answering this survey on behalf of yourself or someone else?

Myself

Someone else unable to answer this survey (Please tell us why)

Communication

(Communicating and sharing information with patients, consumers, carers and families/whānau)

1. When you had important questions to ask a doctor, did you get answers that you could understand?

Yes, always Yes, sometimes No I had no need to ask

2. Was your condition explained to you in a way that you could understand?

Yes, completely Yes, to some extent No N/A

3. Did you feel the following staff listened to what you had to say?

Yes

alw

ays

Yes,

som

etim

es

No

N/A

Doctors

Nurses

Other members of your health care team

4. Did a member of staff tell you about medication side effects to watch for when you went

home?

Yes, completely Yes, to some extent No I did not need an explanation N/A

5. Overall, was communication with you… (please circle a number)


Very poor Very good

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Can you give us some examples why you rated it that way? It is these examples that help us

understand your point of view.

Partnership

(Encouraging and supporting participation and collaboration in decision making by patients,

consumers, carers and families/whānau)

6. Were you involved as much as you wanted to be in decisions about your care and treatment?

Yes, definitely Yes, to some extent No I was unable or did not want to be involved

7. Did the hospital staff include your family/whānau or someone close to you in discussions about your care?

Yes, always Yes, sometimes No I did not want them included N/A

8. Overall, was the way staff involved you in decisions about your care… (please circle a number)

Very poor Very good

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10




Coordination

(Coordination, integration and transition of care between clinical and support services across

different provider settings)

9. Were you given conflicting information by different staff members; eg, one staff member would tell you one thing and then another would tell you something different?

No Yes, sometimes Yes, always

10. Do you feel you received enough information from the hospital on how to manage your condition after your discharge?

Yes, definitely Yes, to some extent No I did not need any help in managing my condition

11. Overall, was the coordination of care within hospital… (please circle a number)

Very poor Very good

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10



Physical and emotional needs

(Treating patients, consumers, carers and families/whānau with dignity and respect and providing the

necessary physical and emotional support)

12. If you needed help from the staff getting to the toilet or using a bedpan, did you get it in time?

Yes, always Yes, sometimes No I did not need help

13. Do you think the hospital staff did everything they could to help control your pain?

Yes, definitely Yes, to some extent No I did not need pain control

14. Overall, did you feel staff treated you with respect and dignity while you were in the hospital?

Yes, always Yes, sometimes No


15. Overall, did you feel staff treated you with kindness and understanding while you were in the hospital?

Yes, always Yes, sometimes No

16. Was cultural support available when you needed it?

Yes, always Yes, sometimes No I did not need cultural support

17. Overall, how well were your physical and emotional needs met… (please circle a number)

Very poor Very good

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10



Surgery

During your stay in hospital, did you have an operation or surgery?

Yes – Go to question 18 No – Go to question 20

18. Before the operation, did staff explain the risks and benefits in a way you could understand?

Yes, completely Yes, to some extent No I did not need an explanation

19. Did staff tell you how the operation went in a way you could understand?

Yes, completely Yes, to some extent

No


Overall

20. Did you have confidence and trust in the staff treating you?

Yes a

lways

Yes,

som

etim

es

No

N/A

Doctors

Nurses

Other members of your health care team

Is there anything else you would like to tell us about your hospital stay?

Optional additional questions

The following questions have been tested and are found to test well. In order keep the core

survey down to a manageable size these have been made optional questions.

1. Did you feel you were involved in decisions about your discharge from hospital?

Yes, definitely

Yes, to some extent

No

I did not want to be involved

2. Were you given enough privacy when discussing your condition or treatment?

Yes, always

Yes, sometimes

No

3. Was religious or spiritual support available when you needed it?

Yes, always

Yes, sometimes

No

I did not need religious or spiritual support

4. In your opinion, how clean was the hospital room or ward that you were in?

Very clean

Fairly clean

Not very clean

Not at all clean

Documents

Adult hospital patient experience survey · Q2 2015 Q3 2015 Q4 2016 Q1 2016 Q2 2016 Q3 2016 Q4 2017 Q1 2017 Q2 2017 Q3 2017 Q4 2018 Q1 2018 Q2 2018 Q3 2018 Q4 2019 Q1 2019 Q2 2019